


which seat can i take?

by MegTheMighty



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Rebecca Black's Friday, Meet-Cute, Romanticization of Public Transportation, warning: cringe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28916130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegTheMighty/pseuds/MegTheMighty
Summary: Riza liked routine. Across two Fridays, she finds that the stranger on her bus to work might just be a welcome interruption.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 20
Kudos: 40





	which seat can i take?

**Author's Note:**

> blame the royai discord

Riza liked routine. It was something she thrived on, and it made her life infinitely easier to know exactly what was going to happen everyday. She woke up at the same time, ate breakfast at the same coffee shop (unless she settled for cereal at home), and rode the same bus to work. 

Rebecca would accuse her friend’s life of being boring, but Riza saw it as practical. Having a tumultuous childhood made her partial to stability. She wasn’t totally opposed to small interruptions to her exacting schedule—Kain bringing a soaking wet puppy into their office out of the blue turned out to be one of her favorite memories, after all. However, in general she truly desired a sense of normalcy.

At precisely 7:42, she stood from her small table and waved goodbye to the barista as she pulled open the door to leave. The winter air hit her face with an unexpectedly cold gust. Temperatures in Central City were lower than what she grew up with in the east, but that day was particularly brutal. Riza pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and wrapped her arms around her chest to try to preserve some body heat. 

She hadn’t even grabbed a hat that morning, not wanting to mess up her newly blow-dried hair. That was pointless in retrospect, considering the wind was ruining any semblance of the hairstyle she had when she left her apartment. Riza muttered under her breath about the sudden harsh weather until she arrived at her bus stop nearby. Luckily, her impeccable planning meant she was waiting outside for less than a minute before the bus rounded the corner onto the street. 

The same driver worked every weekday, so she already knew it was going to be Wilson. He pulled up to the sidewalk, nodding at her as he opened the doors.

“Cold day, huh?” he greeted.

“Yeah, definitely,” she replied, stepping up to board. 

Riza caught a look at herself in one of the overhead mirrors and immediately reached up to smooth down some of her errant hairs. The fabric from her gloves only made it worse as static from the friction made the strands stand up in every direction. She sighed and took a few steps toward her seat, comforted by the fact that she would at least have time to fix herself up during the ride.

She always sat four rows behind the driver, choosing the aisle seat instead of the window. The bus was never full or even close to capacity, so she never had to worry about someone sitting next to her. Her preferred seat was also near the emergency exit and a heater, making it ideal on a cold day.

Still distracted by her hair, Riza didn’t even look up until she was turning to sit down. When she did, she found a man staring back at her from the window seat. She froze. No one ever took her spot. Hardly anyone rode the bus in the first place. 

It took another long moment for her to realize she was still standing there, staring him down. Her natural expression was quite intimidating, so she belatedly realized the man was probably facing a glare. She could just play off her brief hesitation and sit down next to him, but on a nearly empty bus, that was poor etiquette. The man blinked under her gaze and moved the briefcase at his feet slightly closer to him.

“Did you want to sit here?” he asked softly. 

He didn’t seem annoyed like she feared, but he was looking at her expectantly. Riza couldn’t force herself to say anything, so she simply took another step and sat down in the row behind him. His eyes followed her for a moment before returning to the front of the bus.

Riza was grateful he didn’t say anything else, and that the chilly air outside had already reddened her cheeks enough that her furious blush of embarrassment was less noticeable. After sitting down, she pulled one glove off and started trying to at least part her hair normally so some of it would fall into place. 

The digital clock at the front of the bus turned to 7:45, and they departed. There were a few stops until Riza got off, so she silently begged that the man would get off before her and she would never have to face him again. Logically, she knew that it was perfectly normal to have an awkward moment every once in a while, but she was always easily embarrassed. 

A few minutes of silence passed until the bus reached its next stop on the route. A few people boarded from the street and a handful stood to leave, but not the man in front of her. He glanced down at his watch once, but otherwise he was quite settled into his seat. Riza found herself studying him, but it was difficult when she could only see the back of his head. His black hair was a bit unkempt, especially for someone who seemed a little older than herself. Other than that, he seemed like any other businessman: well-dressed, calm, handsome. She was faintly aware that when he saw her, she was bundled up in an old winter coat with a bird’s nest for hair.

Three more stops came and went and he was still there. Riza was finally getting off next, so she slipped her glove back on and made sure her purse was secure on her shoulder. The bus grinded to a halt near her office building, and she grabbed onto the bar in front of her to stand, trying not to draw any more attention. She tried to remind herself that the stranger would probably forget about her as soon as she got off, and that thought was a little helpful.

However, that hope was dashed when she heard steps behind her and saw out of her periphery that the man was also stepping off the stair at the exit. 

_Please tell me we don’t work in the same building,_ she thought, cringing at the idea of seeing him again. 

Determined to forget the awkward incident and never find out where exactly the stranger was going, Riza rushed toward the front door and didn’t look back.

-

“And she’s right on time, as always,” Rebecca announced to the near-empty office. “You should mix it up a little and come in thirty seconds late for once.”

Riza pulled out the chair at her desk and started peeling her coat off, sending an irritated look toward her friend at the reception desk in response. 

“I embarrassed myself on the bus this morning,” she said. “If you want to make fun of me for anything, it should be that.”

Rebecca laughed, leaning forward to get a better look at Riza’s mortified expression. 

“What did you do, step on someone’s foot? Fall over because you weren’t in your seat when the bus started moving?”

“I almost sat next to a stranger because I wasn’t paying attention,” she explained. “Then I stood there glaring at him until I finally just took another seat.”

“Ah, so he stole your coveted spot,” Rebecca replied. “Sounds like he deserved it.”

“He definitely didn’t,” she groaned. “And then we both got off here, so for all I know he works on the floor right below us.”

“Come on, Riza, it’s really not that bad,” Rebecca insisted. “I’ve done much more embarrassing things on public transportation while being much less sober than you are right now.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Fine then, don’t accept my emotional support,” Rebecca sighed dramatically. “Just try to forget about it, you won’t even remember the incident by next week.”

Riza nodded, deciding to just get to work. It was a calm Friday morning in their small office and she didn’t want to let anything ruin her day. 

Throughout the rest of the morning, other employees started filtering in and beginning to work at their desks. An afternoon meeting was cancelled, so Riza’s day was suddenly much more free. The paperwork went quickly as well, and soon both Riza and Rebecca were getting ready to leave for the weekend.

“Any fun plans tonight?” Rebecca asked on the elevator ride down to the lobby. “I was thinking about getting down at that new club on 8th Street.”

“I don’t have any plans, just relaxing.”

"Yeah, I’m sure you need it after your stressful morning. That poor man…”

Riza nudged her friend in the side, sending her a glare. “I thought you were done teasing.”

“I am, I am,” she relented. “Don’t dwell on it though. Like I said earlier, you won’t even remember it happening soon enough.”

She trusted what Rebecca said, but just in case, Riza decided to walk home rather than take the bus.

-

By the time Monday came around, Rebecca was proven right; Riza almost completely forgot about her awkward encounter on the bus. After she finished a quick bowl of cereal and scratched Hayate’s head as a goodbye, she set out toward her bus stop again. Winston was right on time, as always, and Riza stepped up through the doors smiling at him. 

Her smile fell as she turned and saw the man sitting in the same seat again. He looked up at the same moment, and she swore there was a ghost of a smile on his lips. Riza tore her eyes away and marched back to the seat behind him again, almost proud she hid her reaction. She was also proud she looked significantly more put together than before. Honestly, she didn’t just look professional, she looked _good._ If anything, she could be satisfied with the knowledge that this stranger knew she wasn’t always a disheveled woman with a stern glare.

She was much less satisfied when she boarded the bus the next day, and he was there again. It was the same on Wednesday, then Thursday as well. Every morning she hoped things would go back to normal, but every day she would have to walk past him to sit in her new seat. The clock would hit 7:45 and the bus would pull away, sealing her fate to sit in the uncomfortable seat for the entire ride to work. Riza never looked back at wherever the man went, and he never approached her. She had no problem with that, considering he probably didn’t like her anyway.

Her annoying new routine was interrupted once again when she left her favorite coffee shop on Friday morning and saw the streets bustling. It was typically a quiet time of day in her residential area, but everybody was rushing around. Riza recalled that there was some sort of festival going on over the weekend, so there were probably lots of tourists wandering the city. She didn’t think much of it until she saw her bus pulling up to the sidewalk and it looked completely packed. 

Stepping up cautiously, Riza quickly took in the sight. In contrast to the day before, there were only two places open. One was _her_ aisle seat, still empty next to the mystery man, and the other was a window seat in the row just before him. She took a few steps forward and made eye contact with the woman sitting next to one of the available spots. She made no moves to give Riza any room, so her gaze shifted back to the man.

_Which seat can I take?_ she thought desperately. 

It would be easier to sit next to the man, but he almost certainly remembered the way she glared at him completely unprovoked. However, sitting next to the woman would require her to either stand or slide over to offer Riza a seat, and that didn’t seem likely.

_Just make your mind up already,_ she scolded herself.

Riza realized she was once again standing there and staring the poor man down, so she decided to straighten her spine, steel her resolve, and sit next to him. He slid his briefcase closer to the wall to give her room, but Riza didn’t acknowledge the gesture. She swallowed thickly and stared ahead, willing the awkward moment to be over soon.

“Sorry if I took your usual seat.”

It took a few moments for Riza to realize he was talking to her. She glanced over at him and was surprised to see a kind smile. The assumption that he didn’t like her because of their first interaction was completely thrown out the window.

“It’s pretty ideal, with the extra leg room and the heater,” he continued. 

She stole another glance at him, smiling back for a moment. “That’s exactly what I thought. But I actually prefer sitting on the aisle, it’s more convenient when you’re getting off.”

“Oh.” He seemed surprised. “I guess this worked out well then. I thought you hated me for stealing the best spot on the bus.”

He chuckled lightly, and she thought for a moment he had a rather pleasant laugh.

“I didn’t think it would be polite to sit next to someone when the bus was so empty,” she explained. “So I guess I resented you a little bit for choosing this row.”

“I could tell from the glare.”

“Oh no, that really wasn’t intentional, I promise,” she insisted. “I felt terrible about that, and I figured I made an awful impression.”

“So you can glare at people on accident?” His eyebrow quirked up skeptically.

“Apparently I can,” she sighed. 

To her surprise, he laughed and shook his head, almost fondly. 

“Well if you don’t hate me and I don’t hate you, then we can just start over,” he said. “I’m Roy.”

“Riza.”

She held out her hand and he gently shook it once. When she looked up, his face was red and he started to turn away again. He almost looked…awkward. Almost as awkward as her. Riza turned away slightly as well, feeling a blush creep onto her cheeks. This time it wasn’t out of embarrassment, though. She warmed at the idea that the man, Roy, felt a little flustered around her.

Unlike her previous rides that week, Riza wasn’t hoping it would be over as soon as possible. However, it ended all too quickly and soon they were both stepping back onto the pavement. Rather than rushing to the door again, she paused and turned. Roy was still there behind her, hesitating as well. 

“Do you have any plans tonight?” she asked abruptly. It was now or never.

“Me?”

Riza almost wanted to roll her eyes. “Yes, you. It’s a Friday, so…I thought I might try to do something fun.” 

“Something fun…” he wondered out loud. “Wait, are you asking me out?”

“I’m trying.”

When he didn’t say anything, Riza felt her sudden surge of confidence falling away. It was probably too much to hope that he liked her enough to go out on a date, when she thought he hated her just a few minutes before.

“How’s the Paramount, 8 p.m.?” he suggested. “It’s a bar off of Langston, close to the park near-”

“I know it,” Riza interrupted. “Yes.”

He let out a relieved sigh as Riza felt her stomach swoop. She almost never jumped into things like that, but it felt nice. It felt right. 

“I’ll see you then,” he said. “I should probably get going.”

She watched as he walked further down the street to another building nearby that held a law office. He turned back once, then again just before opening the door, smiling at the sight of her standing there. Giving herself another moment to breathe, Riza finally picked her feet up to go to work.

-

“Geez, three minutes late,” Rebecca exclaimed. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing,” Riza replied innocently.

She could feel her friend’s critical eye on her. “You look happy. What happened?”

“Can’t I just be happy for no reason?” she sighed.

“I’m obligated to say yes as your friend, but it’s still suspicious.”

Riza smiled as she turned away and set everything down on her desk. She couldn’t tell Rebecca about her date yet, because otherwise it would be all she heard about the entire day. She didn’t want any added pressure either. 

“You’re really not going to tell me?” Rebecca complained after a few moments of silence.

“I guess I’m just looking forward to the weekend.”


End file.
